Krypto’s Debut in James Gunn’s Superman is an Awesome Historic First
Who is Kal-El's best friend?
When David Corenswet flies as Kal-El, the last son of Krypton in the anticipated 2025 Superman reboot, he won’t be alone. While Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Rick Flag Sr. (Frank Grillo), and many other DC comic book characters are set to appear in the movie, the most monumental character in the movie has just been revealed.
Superman director James Gunn has released a new image of Superman and his faithful dog Krypto, making it clear that yes, Superman’s dog will feature in the movie. According to Gunn, who said the new version of the dog was inspired by his own dog Ozu, “Krypto arrives on screens in Superman this summer.”
To be clear, although Krypto is a very old DC Comics character, this marks the first time Krypto will appear in a live-action adaptation with Superman. And that’s a pretty big deal.
Superboy and Krypto back in 1962.
First appearing in Adventure Comics in 1955, the backstory of Krypto has differed over the years, though most agree that like Kal-El, he is most certainly not from Earth. The original premise is that before Kal-El is put into the rocket that takes him to Earth, Kal’s father, Jor-El, uses Krypto as a test subject. Strangely this idea predicted canines that were actually used in space test flights, specifically the famous dog Laika, who flew on Sputnik 2 in 1957.
Some other versions of Krypto are ordinary dogs who become Superman's (or Superboy’s) pet, while at least one version of Krypto comes from a pocket universe, or sometimes the infamous Phantom Zone. Since 1955, nearly all on-screen versions of Krypto have existed in animated form. Most recently, the Rock played the voice of Krypto in 2022’s DC League of Super-Pets. In the 2018 live-action TV series Titans, Krypto was depicted as a lab dog, kept in a cage filled with Kryptonite. In a unique twist, this Krypto was a clone of Superman but re-created as a canine. Smallville also had a dog, briefly which was almost named Krypto, but that doesn’t count.
Which version of Krypto will James Gunn settle on? A dog from space? A pocket universe? An ordinary dog that Supe rescues? Right now, we don’t know. But, because this specific partnership has never been depicted in a Superman movie, it’s clear that Superman will break new ground in 2025. It’s also somewhat clear that by including Krypto, this film will move away from the darker Superman from the previous DCEU, and perhaps closer to the tone of the quirkier, Silver Age stories of Superman. In essence, the nature of Krypto in the new film could tell us many things about what to expect from the movie overall. If this version of Krypto can fly, it will be one kind of Superman movie. If the new Krypto is just a very good boy who likes Superman, that’s another thing. Either way, Supe’s best friend is set to do one thing in the new movie: steal the show with a single bound.
